Friday, July 11, 2008

It all started with Photoshop and a dream...

In November 2007, I joined SL to research the virtual economy that Linden Lab had created as part of my term paper on ethics of online virtual worlds. I experimented with all the fun stuff SL has to offer, and was fascinated by the creativity behind the things you could buy. I wanted to learn how to make things so I could have a business in SL, and spent lots of time on the tutorials and at TUi (an SL university).

There I also learned a little about scripting, which allows all kinds of cool stuff to happen.

Around Valentine's day 2008, I finally got my copy of Photoshop and thought I'd give fashion design a try. After all, I'd done pretty well in my art classes, and liked to sketch for fun. What should I make? Something nobody else had, of course... a theme I've tried to stick with ever since :)

The heart cutout shirt, my first product, and WILD STYLE FASHIONS was born. Since then, it's been a real learning adventure! I started learning how to play with "prims" which are attachments that can accessorize outfits and give them 3-dimensional character. Without prims, outfits all apper skin-tight or painted on the SL avatar. There are lots of tutorials on creating prims on Youtube, but going to TUi really helped with this more than anything. Also, spending time at Help Island's tutorials was useful. Wanting to concentrate on clothes and not footwear or too many accessories, I got some Kalnins optics and Bax Coen Boots vendors so I could have a 1-stop shop for coolness :)

Fast forward to July 2008...

OK, I'm getting really ambitious and hoping to take on the biggest names in SL fashions! Well, it's slow going getting started. I hear stories (in the Fascon Cafe chat) about some people making like L$20,000/day with their stores. You never know if people are full of BS though. On my best day, I've made half that, so I guess it's close to being possible. Being a student of business, I'd like to make it work; and of course it would be awesome if this could turn into something that would pay my tuition as well! More importantly though, I get a kick out of people's reactions to my designs... that's the reward money can't buy :)

I'm having lots of fun doing custom orders for people - usually with that same theme: "I can't find it anywhere else!"

Yay! April to the rescue :)

I love making stuff that really grabs people's attention :)

Well, I hope to blow people away and make some great stuff that lots of people will want!